Trample Matter

This morning, Joe and I headed out to Watsonville to check on the cows and take down some poly-wire fence. The area where we left the cows last night had been eaten up and we decided to open more space to let them graze for the next few days. The ground looks good but we didn't allow for any "Drought Reserve" to be left behind. Drought reserve is what Joe and Ev call feed that is not grazed so in case of a drought, the cows can come back to a previously visited field to feed.

Optimally, we would give the cows enough feed so that they take a single bite out of the most energy rich parts of the grass. Joe explained that this is the flowers, leaves, and seeds. The rest or the plant should be trampled - crushing carbon into the ground. In the end, there should be just enough grass left for a drought reserve, in case the cows need to come back to the given area.

I'm not sure if we are going to go check on the cows tomorrow, as they have plenty of feed. But it would be interesting to see what the area we gave them will look like in the morning. We're still watching the effects of high density and analysis our observations to make the most informed decisions about how to most efficiently use high density. Any time we visit the cows we gather valuable data.

Upon Return

I got back to work yesturday after taking Wednesday off to spend the day with my brother and some new friends. After a particularly slow morning, Everett and I got started building more poly-wire fence in anticipation of moving the cows this weekend.

Today, I awoke to "Rise and Shine, Ben!" being hollered outside my house. My alarm failed to go off and I was late for my 6:30 a.m. rendezvous with Joe and Ev. In a haste, I threw on some cloths, grabbed an apple, and jumped into the my truck to go meet Joe and Ev at the ranch.

We spent the morning moving the cows to fresh feed and speculating on their next move. I used a chain saw today to clear some road - danger! Also, Ev and I built a couple more fences, subdividing the larger fence we laid down yesterday. We'll use these paddocks for the weekend and maybe even Monday and Tuesday. Joe and I will be back out on the ranch in the morning, opening up more feed and documenting the progress of the cows.

Special thanks to Matt, Pat, Tori, and Josh for an especially fantastic time on Wednesday in Santa Cruz and at the Phish. Love.

Brush Yo Teeth

Today Everett and I visited the cows again. We moved them down into the bottom of the back bowl, pushing them through brush and opening up a lot of overgrowth. By doing this, we exposed the cows to areas that they had not been before. There wasn't much grass but the cows quickly started munching on the plethora of brush and leaves that were around.

We ran into a problem with the calves that had gotten out under the fence. After we moved the herd, we went back to gather up the calves. By doing it in this order (rather than getting everything together then moving them) a bunch of the cows that we had moved came back up the hill in search of their calves. After some more time spent herding on foot, we were able to successfully get the cows in the same general area - which after a couple hours was good enough!

Later in the afternoon, after putting up more fence for new paddocks, Ev and I returned to the cows to find them laying down and the calves prancing around. According to Joe and Everette, this is a sign that the cows are happy - that they are content and all their needs have been met. To me, the cows seemed happy enough laying under the trees and chewing on leaves.

Tomorrow, Matt is arriving with his party and I will be taking the afternoon and Wednesday off. In the morning, Ev and I are going to move the cows into their new paddock (still in the Pick Nick Grounds) and rearrange some fencing.

I took pictures today but left them in the Mule (the 4x4). I won't be posting for the next few days but will be enjoying some quality family time... and seeing Phish.

Look for pictures soon!

Cows Cows Cows

I checked on the cows again today. Water was working great and the cows looked good. The only problem was that they totally trashed one of the poly-wire fences that we'd put the other day. It was separating the top half of the back bowl from the bottom half. After about an hour working to untie knots and untangle the wire, I took down the remainder of the fence, allowing the cows to move freely into the bottom half of the bowl (...if they were not doing so before). Before I left, I moved the cows to water again, this time bringing them around the top rather than along the road in the middle.

Work again tomorrow morning. My brother Matt and some friends are coming to stay with me for a couple nights - maybe arriving tomorrow?!?!? I need to clean my house before they arrive, but they will probably be camping in the barn...